A Mate's Halloween
by TheMaskedCat
Summary: Companion piece to A Demon's Mate.


Author's Note: I know that this is late, but I thought of it at a Halloween party and I had to do this because we're no where near October in A Demon's Mate. So, I'm doing a one-shot. I also have no idea how they do Halloween in the UK, pretty sure that it would be drastically different than our own. Would love someone to tell me. (Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge.) Anyway, for the sake of this one shot let's pretend that they do the same thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of it's characters. I only claim Serena and the demons, as well as the descendents that I introduce.

A Mate's Halloween

"I come for six feet under, with a dead guy on my knee.

I'm headin' down to Hades, fore to spend eternity."

"Hey there Deadger, I think it's plain to see.

We bought a cardboard casket and the worms have eaten me."

Roseanne season 4 episode 6

Serena laughed at the voices from the tv as she pulled more pumpkin guts out of the gourd on the table. She stopped and looked back to Edwin.

"You know that's not so funny anymore."

The demon merely nodded and shifted on his feet again. Although guarding her when the red head wasn't at the manor was his and Lucien's job, when she had mentioned that the family pack up to go to the townhouse for trick or treating, the demon from the manor came as well. She figured his following had more to do with Alex than her, but it still put the other two demons on edge.

_'Who does he have guarding this family that scares Edwin?'_

"Why isn't it funny?" Speaking of Alex, the boy beside her stuck his hand into the sticky goo of his pumpkin as he looked up at her.

"Don't worry about it, I was just thinking out loud." Serena smiled at the boy with pumpkin seeds on his face. "So, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

"Mum got me something." He threw the seeds in his hand into the trash bag between them with more force than necessary.

"I take it you don't like it?"

The boy made a face. "She wants me to be Andy."

"Like Raggedy Ann and Andy?" Serena sneered a little as she said it and pulled more goo out of her pumpkin.

Alex just sighed.

"I see your point."

"I really don't want to go." He stuck his hand back in his pumpkin and fished around. "We could stay here and carve pumpkins all night?"

"Or we could throw a bunch of this stuff on you and you could go as 'Pumpkin Boy.'"

"Anything's better than Andy." The boy smiled. "What are you going to go as?"

"You know, I hadn't thought about it. I completely spaced a costume."

"Mum has the Raggedy Ann costume. She said that she was going to take me this year, but she has to go out with Daddy."

Serena looked down and sneered at that idea. He quickly took a great interest in the remains of the pumpkin in front of him. With a sigh, she put her hands on her hips and looked up at the ceiling. The red head racked her brain, hoping that an idea would come to her.

"The attic."

"What?" Alex looked up with her, expecting to see something.

"The attic. I bet you there is a bunch of old stuff stored up there. Probably, some old clothes." Wiping her hands a towel that Edwin held out, she called for the butler.

**************************A Mate's Halloween*******************************

Serena sneezed as she walked through the rows of boxes. Jameson walked ahead of her and Alex, leading the way toward the old stuff. Plastic totes, intermixed with trunks, turned to cardboard boxes and, finally, to wood crates the further in they went. The red head stopped when a familiar emblem caught her attention.

Instead of the Carthrage crest, that was stamped on most of the boxes, they reached a part of the attic where they were seeing something else. A crest she remembered drawing on wrapping paper as part of a Christmas present to a moody teen. She ran her fingers over the seal with a smile.

"Would you like to start here, miss?" Jameson stood behind her, holding the pry bar he had brought with.

"Yes." Serena pulled Alex back with her as the butler set about getting the crate opened.

He stepped back as soon as the top was off. Serena stopped Alex from falling onto the box and ripping the contents out everywhere. She pulled out each piece carefully, inspecting for something to wear as a costume. Alex had already informed her that this was a tactic taken by many in this area of London that forgot or waited until the last minute to find something. She didn't want to just blend in. The boy was still skeptical about this idea, but curious to be able to explore the attic. A part of the house that was normally forbidden to him.

Finding nothing but men's clothing, she put everything back and looked for another crate. Jameson had already opened the next two and waved her to them as he set the top back on the first. The next was more men's clothing, but they looked frighteningly familiar. Pulling out a suit of blue silk, Serena realized it wasn't something for day wear. Gold thread, that she was certain was real, edged the jacket. Buttons, that were actually sapphires held in gold, sparkled from the cuffs going up the forearm and calf. The jacket itself was cut away in at the waist but left long in the back so that it would almost brush the floor. Below it, Serena found the matching top hat, with it's ribbon still wound into a bow with tails that would fall down the back of the wearer, and heeled shoes. There was something a little Lolita about the outfit and she realized it was exactly what Sebastian would have dressed Ciel in.

"Hey Alex, how about wearing this?" She waved him closer and held it up in front of him. "We'd have to find someone to alter it in a hurry though."

"Serena, everybody that forgets or waits until the last minute chooses something from up in the attic." He crossed his arms and glared at the outfit.

"Oh, come on. It's better than Pumpkin Boy." Serena looked at the outfit again. "Wait, we could be zombies. We'll rip it up and have green face paint and blood everywhere."

"Yeah!" Alex grabbed the jacket from her and slid it on over his clothes. Just as she thought, it was way to big for the small boy. As he walked to make the back of the coat flare out, it drug the ground like some kind of train.

"Miss, that belonged to one of the previous earls." Jameson looked like he wanted to stop the boy from dragging the precious silk across the rough floorboards.

"Don't worry. It's not like he's coming back for it." The red head watched Alex as she pulled out the rest of outfit and looked at how big it would be on him. She smirked and looked at the end of the attic. "And I bet you I know someone that could alter it."

The sound of someone snapping their fingers echoed through the cavernous space and the pants she held shortened, as did the jacket the boy was wearing, even the heels on the shoes lowered to a height that would be easier to walk in. All the matching pieces would now fit him perfectly and Serena smiled.

"Thank you. Now, we have to find something for me." The red head left the box, of what she was certain were Ciel's clothes, and went to the next.

Toward the bottom, she started to find gowns. All of them were red.

"His aunt must have kept clothes at the townhouse before she died." Pulling out what looked like an old walking dress, she shook it and held the gown against herself. "Well, I guess I could be the Madame Red of this generation."

Snapping fingers echoed again and the dress changed a tiny bit, just enough so that it would fit her like it was supposed to. She smiled toward the shadows and bowed her head.

"Thank you." Serena picked up all the pieces of their outfits as Jameson nailed the tops back on to close up the crates again. Grabbing Alex, they headed down the stairs. "I wonder if we can get a whole group together?"

******************************A Mate's Halloween************************************

Serena looked over the boy in front of her to make sure he wasn't missing anything. Face paint had paled him out nicely and the little touches of blended greens, yellows and grays had given him a definite dead look. The antique, hand-sewn seams had been easy to rip at one shoulder and in the sides to show some more yellow and gray rotted flesh. They had scuffed the shoes against the concrete stairs at the front of the house as a horrified Jameson had looked on and pulled off a couple of the buttons, the jewels handed over to the butler.

"All you need now is blood." She reached for the bowl that was sitting on the bathroom counter. They had chosen this room, not only for the full length mirror, but the tile would be easier to clean up later.

"Lots of blood!" Alex jumped in the little heels, managing not to twist an ankle in his excitement.

She grabbed the corn syrup blood that one of the maids had been more than happy to make. She looked at him carefully before throwing spoonfuls at him. Making some of it dribbled down his side and pushing some through his hair, Serena added the blood carefully as there was no take two with this stuff.

The door opened in her bedroom and Serena expected to see the maid she had sent for a candy bucket. Instead, Malory stood in the doorway to the bathroom, shock on her face.

"What?"

"That's..." She came forward with a hand out to touch the ruined clothing but stopped at the last minute. "That's an antique. It's hand-sewn. It..."

"Was rotting in a crate." The red dribbled a little more down the side of Alex's face and saw Malory wince when it soaked into the fine silk at his neck.

"Belonged to one of my ancestors."

"As I told Jameson, Ciel's not coming back to wear it again." Serena threw what was left in the bowl on the boy and set it aside.

"That was Ciel's?"

"You're so upset and you didn't even know who it belonged to?"

"Are you angry?" Alex looked at the floor and scuffed his boot against the tile.

Malory sighed. "No, honey. You do look very good."

"Really?" He smiled up at his mother and the last of her irritation melted away.

"Really. I guess you didn't want to wear the costume I picked for you?"

"Serena going to go with me. This way we can all match."

"All?" The red head looked up from her own costume, still hanging on the door.

"We normally take a few of the servants with us. It's safer that way."

The red head gasped. "We could get them to dress up like Ciel's servants and we could zombify them too."

"Yeah! We'd have a whole group then." Alex smiled as he ran out of the room to call Jameson.

"Who are you going to be, Serena?" Malory interrupted.

"Madame Red," she answered like it was obvious.

Turning to the mirror, Serena started on her own make-up. Her hair was already put up in the bun shown in the anime flashbacks, before Madame Red had hacked off her own hair. It went much easier and faster then applying face paint to an excited child. She shut the door to the bathroom, leaving the walking dress that she had already ripped up and hung on the back showing in the mirror.

Malory quietly fumed as she went through the application of paint on various body parts that would show throw her rips and tears. When the red head turned around, she found an angry mother in her path.

"What?"

"I already had a costume for him to wear."

"Andy? Come on, Malory. You might as well give him a sign that says, 'knock me down and take my candy.'"

"It was adorable."

"Halloween isn't about being adorable." She opened the door and stepped out.

One of the maids was standing with Lucien, a bright blush on her face. Serena shook her head and grabbed the fan she had found. Spreading it out, she started to rip the connecting fabric.

"She's right you know." Lucien winked at Malory. "Halloween is about ghosts and demons and monsters."

"It's about screams and scares and dead people rising from the grave." The maid laughed.

Lucien looked over at his Elder's mate. "Literally."

She smacked the smiling demon with the closed fan. "Its about who gets the most candy."

"Oh, that reminds me." The maid held out a small bucket decorated with yarn. "I got the bucket you asked for."

"That?" Serena looked at Malory as she played with the yarn, a smile on the blonde's face. "You're going to send my adorable, zombie earl out with that?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"It has yarn on it. And it's tiny. How is he supposed to get the most candy with that?"

"He doesn't need the much candy."

"He's not going to eat all of it, Malory. It's the getting." She took the bucket and handed it back to Lucien. "It's coming home at the end of the night, exhausted from hitting as many houses as you could, and dumping your haul on the floor to see a small mountain of candy."

"I give up." Malory threw her hand into the air and went for the door.

"You can have him back next year and then you can dress Alex in whatever you want to." Serena called before the door shut. Looking back to Lucien, she saw the small bucket he was still holding. "Ugh, get rid of that."

"Yes, my lady."

The red head took one of the pillows from the bed and shook it out of it's case. Taking the pillow case into the bathroom with her, she splattered the find cotton with the blood in the bowl for her. Serena took it back out and handed it to the demon.

"Hold that until it dries. That is a candy sack."

"Yes, my lady."  
Headed back into the bathroom, the maid followed Serena to help her into the corset and dress. After a moment, the door opened a crack and the red head popped out.

"Hey, Lucien?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Is there someone that could play Sebastian?"

The demon blinked at her. "I'm sorry."

"Well, we're getting a whole group since Malory wants us to take some of the servants with us. If we're going to have a group, we have to have a Sebastian."

"I'm sure someone could be found."

"Great." Serena closed the door again and didn't see the demon's smirk.

*********************************A Mate's Halloween********************************

In the hall, Serena inspected the servants the had been selected to accompany them. Each was dressed as one of the servants in the anime, including a retired footman that still lived in the house dressed as Tanaka. She approved their outfits and the zombification with a smile and clap.

Giggling from the stairs made her turn to see Alex. Coming down the stairs beside him, holding his hand and making sure he didn't trip in the low heels was Sebastian. As she stared, Lucien came up behind her.

It took a moment for her to be able to speak, even then, her voice could barely be heard. "But, how..."

"It's not really the Elder. There are many demons that can take on another's appearance for a short time."

"Oh." She covered her disappointment as the boy and his demon hit the bottom stair. Alex jumped off the last stair with a laugh.

"Look, Serena. He's going to come with us."

"I see that." The red head moved to the demon as Alex went to approve of the rest of their group. "How long can you hold that?"

"A few hours at least. More than enough time for our party to return."

"Why don't you just do that all the time when someone sees you around the manor?"

"It is rather draining. It takes a lot of constant concentration to hold the appearance of another."

"Serena! Let's go!" Alex grabbed her hand and pulled.

"Okay, okay."

"So, you're taking Alex around this year?" Claire came down the stairs and looked at the assembled.

"Yup. We're going to scare the candy out of everybody." The red head shook the hand she was holding. "You want to come?"

"Please, this gets me off the hook."

Alex stuck his tongue out at his sister.

"Aren't you supposed to be trying to get my brains." She teased her little brother.

The boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd be starving if I went after yours."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Serena stepped between them and took Alex's hand again. "You can fight later. We have candy to get."

He still took a minute to blow a raspberry at his sister before hauling the red head to the door. Everyone fell in behind them as Jameson opened the front door and released the zombies out into the world.

A couple hours later, Alex still hadn't slowed down, even though Serena was starting to. Keeping up with a hyper child was just as hard as keeping up with Lizzy on a shopping spree. The neighborhoods surrounding the Carthrage House were generous and loved his costume. He had already handed off two pillowcases and was about to have a third be too heavy for him to carry anymore.

The Bard and Finny look-a-likes watched the houses that were ahead, checking what the children were getting, as well as who was handing it out. The Meirin look-a-like was flitting around 'Sebastian', just as her original did, which suited Serena just fine. She couldn't stop looking at him and feeling the wrong that reminded her that her actual demon was an ocean away. 'Meirin' accompanied Alex to the door for the next house and 'Sebastian' fell in beside Serena.

"You are avoiding me." The same voice purred along her skin with the same tone that he would have used.

The red head spun to deny it, but meeting blue instead of crimson eyes threw her off. _'He must have spent a lot of time around his Elder before this assignment.'_

"I thought that you would be happy to see this form."

"It's just...wrong. Seeing you like that just makes me remember that he isn't here."

"I see. I will stay with Alexander then." He started to walk away, but she grabbed his arm.

"Why do you spend so much time with Alex? From what Malory has said, you didn't spend so much time with her or her daughters."

"It was my assignment to make sure that the family survived until such time as you arrived. When one earl has his heir, my focus shifts to that heir."

"That doesn't explain why you spend so much time with him."

"Alexander is...special. He knew from the beginning that I wasn't human and was never frightened of me." The demon scoffed. "I think that it made him seek me out more."

"Is that why you seem to enjoy the time that you spend with him?"

"He's the heir, even though being the youngest. His sisters are far older than him and taken to their own interests. He doesn't go to school yet, so he doesn't have other children to play with. I think, even when he does, Alexander will not have many friends."

"Yeah, I think he'll find that most people are going to irritate him. I see that superior attitude that he gets sometimes."

The boy in question saw the two of them talking and pulled 'Meirin' to keep up with him instead.

Serena sighed as she watched him run ahead. "In some ways, he's so much like Ciel it hurts to watch him. And in others, he's so different that I don't worry about him at all. Even though most people will bother him, I think that he'll fit in just fine. Because he wants to be happy and he likes to be around people. I don't think that Ciel ever did."

The demon considered her words for a moment as they walked behind the others. "I believe that you are correct."

After a couple more houses, Serena felt a yawn. "Sorry."

"We should collect Alexander."

"He's having so much fun though." She shook herself and kept moving forward. "I really had hoped that we could have got over to Undertaker's somehow. I wonder what he would be giving out on Halloween?"

"The reapers normally stay in on All Hallows Eve. Undertaker doesn't do anything."

"You're kidding."

'Sebastian' shook his head. "Not at all. Demons get a power surge on Halloween and the reapers tend to stay out of sight if they have no souls to collect."

"Well that's disappointing."

"Miss. The house up next is giving out apples." 'Bard' ran up to the main party.

"Candied apples, caramel apples, or apple apples."

"Apple apples."

"Weirdos." She hurried ahead and pulled Alex away from the house. "Let's go the next one, they're passing out fruit here."

The boy gasped and glared at the house. "That's just wrong."

******************************A Mate's Halloween************************************

Alex stared at his pile as Jameson dumped another bag over the ever-growing mountain on the floor. In the end, they had half-filled each pillowcase they took and only then would the boy even think of returning. Serena had ended up leaning against 'Sebastian' as they made their way back home.

The red head now sat on the sofa and watched Alex's wonder-filled face with a smile. Everyone had been enchanted by the little, zombie lord and his entourage, it followed that they had been more than generous with their candy. Toward the end, the kids were thinning out and each house started to give out handfuls of their candy just to be rid of it before trick or treating stopped.

"I want to jump in it." Huge, blue eyes looked up at Serena and the demon standing behind her.

"Alex, I'm not sure..." She stopped as 'Sebastian' stepped around the sofa and lifted the boy.

"It will be alright." He smirked and set Alex on the ottoman near his pile.

Serena winced as the boy counted off and made his leap. Close to the floor, 'Sebastian' caught him and held the boy for a split second, stopping his momentum, before dropping him into the pile. Candy flew around Alex as he giggled in delight. Little hands tossed the small, wrapped candies into the air and laughed as they came back down around him.

The door behind them opened and Malory came in followed by her husband as more sugared treats were thrown into the air.

"Wow, that's quite a haul." Henry laughed at his son.

Alex squealed and ran to his parents. The boy talked 90 miles an hour as he recounted the night. Behind him, Serena smiled as she watched them. 'Sebastian' had taken up his normal place in the shadows of the room and stayed quiet.

As he started telling them about the last houses giving out so much, the boy started to lean forward slightly. His speech slowed a bit and my parents saw that his eyes stayed closed longer between each blink. When he yawned, Henry scooped his son into his arms.

"I think that it is time that someone go to bed."

Alex leaned his head against his father's chest and closed his eyes, the mountain of candy forgotten. Henry nodded to Serena before leaving the room to get the boy cleaned up and put to bed.

"Thank you for taking him out tonight." The blonde sighed. "You were right about his costume."

"He's always adorable, Malory. It doesn't matter what he's wearing."

"I think so too. I'll have Jameson clean up the candy." Malory smiled and said good night before leaving the room.

The demon came forward from his shadows and looked down at her. "Are you going to bed as well?"

"Ugh, I'd love to. But I have to take this make up and corset off first." Serena shoved herself off the sofa and started toward the door.

"Let me help you, my lady."

She let out a squeak when she lifted with an arm beneath her legs and another behind her back. Settled against a familiar body, Serena looked up at the familiar face. 'Sebastian' smirked down at her as he walked across the hall to the staircase. Giving up, she laid her head on his shoulder.

When they reached her room, 'Sebastian' set her down and took a step back.

"Now, to get out of this get up." Serena yawned again before reaching behind her for the buttons. Gloved hands swatted her fingers away and made quick work of undoing the dress. She took a deep breath of relief when the knot at the bottom of the corset was loosened and she could breathe easily again. "Thank you."

Not bothering to look behind her, the red head went into the bathroom and started the shower. As the water heated, she slipped the layers off and left them on the floor. There was no saving the dress anyway with it's rips and fake blood covering. The hot water did wake her a little bit, not much, but enough to get all the make up off and wash the blood out of her hair. When she came back out, a shirt was laying on the counter.

Sebastian still stood in the bedroom, moonlight streaming through the windows the only light. He smiled as she walked out and pulled out the chair at the vanity. Serena sat down mechanically, knowing that she needed to brush her hair out before going to bed or it would be a rat's nest in the morning. She reached for the brush at the same time as a gloved hand. Laughing, she let him pick it up and start pulling it through her hair.

The rhythmic strokes, coupled with her exhaustion, made her sway on the seat. She heard the brush being set back on the wooden top from a distance. Serena jumped when she felt hands run down her arms. A gentle kiss was laid on the side of her neck.

"What are you doing?" She tried to push him away but moaned as lips captured her earlobe.

Her hand grabbed his arms as she slid around her waist and nails dug into the black fabric. She knew it was wrong, she belonged to Sebastian. She knew that she should push him away. But, it felt so good. Serena hadn't realized how much her demon had touched her until she woke back in her own time and alone. The two he head chosen to guard her and Haagenti always made sure not to touch her any more than necessary, and she missed it. Not that she wanted them to touch her, she hadn't wanted this demon to touch her earlier.

Something in the mirror caught her attention and had her lean forward to see it better. The demon behind her was watching in the reflection. With crimson eyes.

Serena gasped as she pulled back in the chair, her head turned by the gentle fingers at her jaw. Fingers that slid into her wet hair to hold her still.

"How..."

The demon smirked as he leaned closer. The red head was lost in the scent of spiced vanilla. She could feel his breath across her cheeks, felt her eyes close as it ghosted across her lips.

"Have you never heard of demonic possession, my mate?"


End file.
